43rd Annual Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival -- 23 March 2024

 Our day started out pretty soggy, with some fairly heavy rain falling on the banks of Lake Dora at the seaplane port in Tavares, Florida.  Fortunately, the  rains subsided and we were able to walk amongst  some of  the most incredible wooden boats I've ever seen gathered in one place.  The Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival is reputed to be the largest festival of antique and wooden boats in the entire  eastern United States!  There were definitely more boats presented than we were even close to be able to see!  Every imaginable boat type was represented, from tiny little wooden racing boats and canoes, to massive, multi-engined luxury launches!  This turned out to be a great day for us, an excellent day for a show and I really look forward to going back again next year.  In the pictures that follow, I tried to give a good overview of what was there.  There's no way I could photograph and share everything, so if you're interested, I encourage you to go next year!  I know I'm looking forward to the next one! 

I hope you're all doing well!
Tight lines, Fair Winds and Following Seas!
    -Nick

One of many small racing boats!

These little boats really rip across the water!

If I had the room, this big Cargo Canoe would have been a fun restoration project!

A beautiful, wooden skiff in the For Sale area.

A bit of time and elbow grease is all it would take!

1964 Century Resorter fully restored and ready to hit the lake!

Even the gators like wooden boats with classic Johnson outboards!

Wouldn't it be fun to flyfish out of one of these classics?

Such a cool race boat with a gorgeous vintage outboard!

Just such a classic look!

Talk about a dream boat!  Beautiful, big Chris-Craft!

I really like the lines on this Lyman!

A closer look at the Evinrude on the back of the Lyman!

There was also a decent Swap & Sale section of the show with some eye catching recycled water ski Adirondack chairs!

Hobie® Eyewear Partners with Field & Stream -- Press Release 16 Sept 2024

Hobie® Eyewear Partners with Field & Stream for Exclusive Collaboration at Field & Stream Music Festival

Oceanside, CA (September 16, 2024) – Hobie® Eyewear, the trusted name in premium sunglasses since 1982, is proud to announce its collaboration with Field & Stream, one of America’s most iconic outdoor brands. This partnership will be unveiled at the highly anticipated Field & Stream Music Festival, where attendees will have the first opportunity to purchase two new exclusive styles—Pioneer and Frontier—designed to celebrate the shared love for the outdoors that both brands embody.

Hobie® Eyewear Pioneer

Hobie® Eyewear Frontier

Exclusive On-Site Activations at the Field & Stream Music Festival Attendees at the Field & Stream Music Festival will be treated to a range of exciting activations hosted by Hobie® Eyewear, including: Hunt Club Vendor Village Sales: Be among the first to purchase the Pioneer and Frontier sunglasses, which are available exclusively at the festival. Floating Sunglasses Demo: Experience the innovative design of Hobie® Eyewear’s floating sunglasses at the “Ugly Pond” demo station, where you can try them out while fishing. The Floating Collection will also be available to demo by those who booked a fishing excursion at the Trophy Bass Pond, offering the chance to fish from Hobie® kayaks. Photo Opportunity with Hobart the Duck: Do not miss a fun photo opportunity with Hobart the Duck, Hobie® Eyewear’s 16-foot-tall mascot.

As Hobie® Eyewear continues to innovate and expand its product line, the collaboration with Field & Stream marks an exciting new chapter in the brand’s history. It brings two Americana icons together to celebrate the outdoors. Explore the collection at  www.hobieeyewear.com or www.eyeking.com for more information.

1921 Wide Spool Perfect Fly Reel -- Press Release 10 Sept 2024

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Hardy Perfects the Perfect: The 1921 Wide Spool Perfect Fly Reel Gets an Upgrade

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Sept 10, 2024) - For over 135 years, Hardy has been the name synonymous with “Perfect” fly reels. Never content, the Hardy engineers consistently strive for enhancements in their search for true perfection. Today, Hardy is excited to announce the latest addition to its legendary lineup: the upgraded 1921 Wide Spool Perfect fly reel. Already celebrated as the epitome of excellence in fly fishing reels, this iconic reel has been finely tuned to offer even greater precision, durability, and versatility – enhanced with a nod to the past, ensuring that it remains, well, perfect for years to come. At the core of this upgraded model is the 1921 Perfect check mechanism, a signature feature that has long been celebrated for its precision and reliability among fly fishing aficionados. This classic mechanism has been refined to offer smoother performance, ensuring that anglers continue to enjoy the seamless experience they have come to expect from the Hardy Perfect. The polished brass/bright nickel-plated revolving line guard is a showpiece and adds a nod to the past when old fly lines would pick up debris and degrade the line guard. While a revolving line guard isn’t necessary with today’s modern fly lines, this added touch is the perfect addition marrying historical charm with Hardy’s impeccable craftsmanship. But it’s not just the mechanics that make this reel stand out. The two-toned anodized finish, inspired by the elegant designs of the 1930’s, adds a layer of sophistication and durability, ensuring that the 1921 Wide Spool Perfect is as tough as it is stylish. This upgraded finish complements the reel’s construction, which features bar stock aluminum and a naval brass one-piece spindle – ingredients that make it a reel worth passing down for generations to come. The 1921 Wide Spool Perfect is available in quarter inch size increments starting at 3” and going to 4” and come in both right- and left-hand models. Whether you target small wild trout or bigger game, there’s a Perfect for every purpose. And when it’s time to pack it up and go home for the day, the reel comes housed in a soft leather, sheepskin-lined Hardy reel pouch – keeping your Perfect in pristine condition. With the latest upgrade, Hardy has once again perfected perfection. The 1921 Wide Spool Perfect is a blend of tradition and innovation, allowing anglers to enjoy the best of Hardy’s heritage while benefiting from today’s modern advancements. HARDY 1921 WIDE SPOOL PERFECT KEY FEATURES • 1921 Perfect check mechanism • Revolving line guard • Classic wide spool design • Machined from bar stock aluminum with navel brass 1pc spindle • Deep anodized two-tone finish • Available in left- and right-hand wind models • Supplied in a soft leather, sheepskin-lined Hardy reel pouch MSRP: $795.00 - 895.00 AVAILABLE: September 2024 For more information about Hardy products, visit www.HardyFishing.com.

Initial Product Testing: FujiNon Techno-Stabi Binoculars

 

Did some product testing this weekend and reminded myself that it's quite tough to not look goofy doing this sort of thing. However, I'm really NOT looking forward to sending these binoculars back, they are incredible!! More info soon!!

The Hardy Resonate: A New Era of Lightweight Precision - Press Release 28 Aug 2024

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Hardy Resonate: A New Era of Lightweight Precision Hardy blends tradition with innovation in its newest lightweight offering perfect for light lines

COLUMBIA, S.C. (August 28, 2024) – Hardy, the name synonymous with fly fishing excellence for over a century, announces the launch of the Resonate, the newest addition to their lineup of freshwater fly reels. The Resonate is not just another fly reel; it is the culmination of Hardy’s ongoing dedication to innovation and tradition, combining lightweight precision with the classic craftsmanship that has defined the Hardy brand for generations. Hardy has long been celebrated for its iconic click check reels, which have graced the hands of discerning anglers around the world. The Resonate takes this legacy a step further, delivering what is arguably their finest lightweight performance reel yet. Blending durability, performance, and that unmistakable Hardy sound, the Resonate brings to life a reel that truly lives up to its name – it resonates with the heartbeat of angling tradition.  The Resonate features a large arbor design, meticulously machined from bar stock aluminum to ensure a perfect balance of strength and lightness. The innovative adjustable click check system, fitted with all-metal load-bearing components, offers anglers total control, whether they’re battling a small stream trout or a big river’s wild steelhead. And with a simple, quick left-to-right conversion, the Resonate is as versatile as it is elegant. At the heart of the Resonate is a commitment to performance without compromise. This reel is designed to be the lightest and most reliable freshwater option available, making it ideal for light line fishing styles. The enclosed line guard frame prevents thin lines, mono rigs, and long leaders from slipping between the frame and spool, while the low startup inertia protects light tippets. The click check mechanism has the largest range of drag adjustability of any performance click check reel Hardy has ever made, making the Resonate as functional as it is beautiful.  For many anglers, the sound of a Hardy reel is as much a part of the experience as the catch. The Resonate preserves this aspect with its adjustable click check mechanism, producing that classic Hardy sound – a sound that not only echoes across rivers but resonates deeply with those who appreciate the finer things in life. The Hardy Resonate is available in three sizes (3000, 4000, and 5000) to cover light weights 1 through 5, Whether you’re a well-seasoned angler or new to the sport, the Resonate is designed to enhance your experiences with the perfect blend of tradition and modern performance. HARDY RESONATE KEY FEATURES • Lightweight but durable design • Enclosed line guard frame • Adjustable click check mechanism • Low start up inertia • Push off spool release • Simple left/right conversion MSRP: $330.00 AVAILABLE: September 2024 For more information about Hardy products, visit www.HardyFishing.com.

Norsk Lithium Press Release -- 5 August 2024

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Learn More About Norsk Lithium® and Join the Waitlist Now

Staggering Enthusiasm for New Norsk Lithium® Products at ICAST 2024 Creates Huge Demand For More Information – Here’s the Intel!

New Hope, Minn. (August 5, 2024) – ICAST 2024 was a truly electric show for Norsk Lithium® in Orlando, July 16 – 19. Dealers, wholesalers, distributors, media, pro anglers, guides and charter captains were all in consensus – the new Norsk Lithium battery designs showcased angler-friendly features that could only have been conceived by anglers themselves. The Norsk Lithium team has decades of experience fighting power issues on the water and in real-world situations; the only kind of knowledge that could have given birth to such a spot-on, problem-solving product line. As such, the company heard a lot of positivity about the paradigm-changing battery designs poised to make fishing easier, better, and more powerful for all anglers. “It was an awesome ICAST,” says Norsk VP of Strategy & Development, James Holst. “The new product releases—the batteries, the DC to DC chargers, improved features and functionality, were all incredibly well-received and the excitement was palpable.” Now, one of the most common questions the company is receiving is: ‘Where can we get additional product information and when will everything be available?’ The answer to the first part couldn’t be easier. Simply visit www.norsklithium.com and you will experience the most advanced battery lineup yet!

With regards to the second part of the question, the ground-breaking Norsk Lithium products will be available 4th quarter (fall), but consumers can sign up to ‘The Waitlist’ to receive product updates with additional information, including availability updates. Simply choose the product of interest, click “Waitlist” and enter your e-mail. It’s that easy! If you join the Waitlist, the moment the products become available, you will receive an e-mail directing you to the purchase process to be one of the first boaters or anglers to benefit from Norsk’s new, problem-solving battery and charger designs. “From our Deep Sleep technology, Emergency Start Reserve, dual voltage options for trolling motor and forward-facing sonar off one battery, and a host of other features, including the 10 year + 2 year warranty, took a lot of people by surprise at ICAST,” adds Holst.  “People thought they knew everything they needed to know about what a lithium battery was capable of and I think we totally reset expectations. As our saying goes ‘you don’t know lithium, until you know Norsk Lithium!’” NEW NORSK LITHIUM TECHNOLOGIES RE-CAP Re-capping the company’s new technologies, Holst reiterates that the response couldn’t have been better at ICAST 2024 as the company demonstrated an entirely new paradigm of design-by-anglers-for-anglers features to combat age-old power issues unaddressed by other lithium battery companies. For example, Norsk’s solution to batteries discharging in storage, at the dock, or in the garage: Deep Sleep™ technology.

True: One of the most maddening, frustrating and time-consuming problems any boat owner can ever be forced to deal with is having to track down a passive or phantom draw that slowly and painfully sucks the energy out of boat batteries when the boat is in storage or simply off-the-water. Sometimes these low amp draws point back to faulty wiring that needs to be painstakingly tracked down and rewired. At other times, the source of the problem is the boat owner themselves. Ever accidentally left a radio or light on in your boat? Or perhaps you’ve forgotten to turn off all the master power switches? Yeah, we’ve done that more times than we care to admit and our oversight typically resulted in a boatload of dead batteries which is why we knew we needed to come up with a fix that would address the problem and provide an “easy button” solution. “So we came up with the Deep Sleep concept, where we can use the BMS that sits on top of the battery to make it really easy for users to shut down every battery or selected groups of batteries in their boat through the Guardian™ app with the simple touch of a button,” says Holst. “Press the button in the app, and selected batteries go into Deep Sleep, stopping current from hitting the battery terminals. This also makes sure that if your boat has any parasitic voltage draws that your batteries aren’t going to drain when docked, in the parking lot, or long-term storage,” offers Holst. Holst elaborates: “And instead of having to crawl through your compartments and flip switches—we typically remember the master switches immediately after the cover is safely and securely on the boat—you can stand by the side of your boat looking like the smartest guy at the launch, hit one button in the Guardian App, and presto, all the batteries disconnect power to the terminals in an instant. Same thing for waking them back up when you’re ready to hit the water. Just open the Norsk Guardian™ app and tap a button. That’s just another example of how we’ve made our new batteries more efficient and user-friendly.” But what if you forget your phone or want to do it manually? Norsk Lithium has gone yet another step further by building in a Power Management Button right into the top of each battery.

“You’ve got a built-in State of Charge (SOC) battery meter built into the top of the battery case. You’re going to get a SOC read-out with a quick push of the battery management button which provides a quick visual check of the battery’s status without the need for the App on your phone. That same battery management button will also give you the opportunity to wake up the battery from Deep Sleep. A simple tap of the button and your battery wakes from Deep Sleep and you’re ready to roll. But our commitment to innovation doesn’t end with Deep Sleep. For example, most experienced anglers carry a jump pack in the boat to ensure they can start their big motor if needed. Get this: Norsk has eliminated the need for this with their new product design.

“Instead of anglers having to dig out a jump pack that all too often gets left at home, to eliminate the chance that the starting battery can be so deeply discharged that there’s not enough juice left to start the outboard, we built in an Emergency Start Reserve (ESR) right into our new line of starting batteries. 25% of the battery’s capacity is set aside, almost like an internal starting pack that you’ll never forget on the kitchen counter, so the angler can avoid ever being caught on the water or at the landing with a dead starting battery ever again! To access the Emergency Start Reserve you have the option to do so in the Norsk Guardian™ App or by pressing and holding the Battery Management button for 5 seconds. With the touch of a button you go from being dead on the water to running across the lake with the wind in your hair! With our new batteries, an angler will never get caught by surprise on the water with a dead starting battery.”   Norsk Lithium Exclusive - Dual Voltage Batteries

How about a 36V 60Ah Deep Cycle battery for your trolling motor with… what’s that? A second set of terminals? Yup. Norsk Lithium is introducing the first dual voltage battery to the marine marketplace in response to the overwhelming consumer demand for batteries that can power their sonar modules at higher voltages. Remember, the operating voltage range of a sonar module, regardless of brand, is in excess of 30V, so feeding these power-hungry devices 28V, instead of the standard 12V, allows them to run more efficiently, offer longer runtimes when compared to a 12V battery due to the lower amp draw, and many feel better overall performance of their sonar system as a whole. Now, in most scenarios users chasing higher voltage solutions are forced to implement complicated wiring, additional power shut off switches, and external voltage regulators to provide higher voltage power. You won’t find any of that run-around over here. With Norsk Lithium’s Dual Voltage 36V 60Ah Deep Cycle, providing 28V of clean, consistent, regulated power is as simple as attaching the red wire from your sonar module to the positive 28V terminal and the black wire from the sonar wire to the negative 28V terminal and you’re ready to hit the water. All the power regulation, power management, and fancy wiring is handled INSIDE the battery. Did we mention we like to use our engineering prowess to solve problems and make things easier for anglers? “Our mission is to make ownership of Norsk Lithium batteries enjoyable through increased efficiency and their ability to solve problems for you. We’re continually asking ourselves how our batteries can do more than provide power. We want to make boating better, easier, more user-friendly and you can see that in everything we’re doing right now with the new line of marine batteries” reiterates Holst. Holst concludes: “What’s really exciting is not only this new line of products and unprecedented design and technologies, but our forward-looking engineering, which promises to stay ahead of the cutting edge as we move forward into the ever-changing landscape of fishing in today’s world.” At the end of the day, when you compare Norsk Lithium’s laundry list of new, high-tech features, it’s painfully clear. Norsk is at the head of the pack when it comes to competition in the marine lithium battery space. If you’re not using green, you’re not using the be-all, end-all.

Pelican International Wins the “Boats and Watercraft” Category -- 18 July 2024

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pelican International Wins the “Boats and Watercraft” Category with the 

Wilderness Systems Tactical Pro 128 at ICAST 2024

Orlando, FL – July 18, 2024 – Pelican International is proud to announce that the 

Wilderness Systems Tactical Pro 128 fishing kayak has won the best “Boat and 

Watercraft” award at ICAST 2024, the premier destination for sportfishing manufacturers 

and dealers. This prestigious honor was presented during the New Product Showcase 

Industry Awards Reception held on July 17, at the Orange County Convention Center. 

ICAST, the world's largest sportfishing trade show, showcases the latest innovations in 

gear, tackle, accessories, and apparel, and the ICAST awards set the highest standard in 

the industry, coveted by all.

“This award is the gold standard in our industry—it's what everyone strives for. Winning 

the “Best of Category” award underscores our commitment to excellence and innovation 

in designing high-performance watercraft for anglers,” said Scott Byers, Wilderness 

Systems’ Product Manager at Pelican International.

“We are thrilled to receive this recognition for the Wilderness Systems Tactical Pro 128,” 

said Marc-Antoine Montbleau, Marketing Manager at Pelican International. “This award 

is a testament to our team's dedication to pushing the boundaries of design and 

functionality to deliver the best possible experience for our customers.” 

The Wilderness Systems Tactical Pro 128 kayak stood out among an impressive lineup of 

competitors for its innovative features and superior performance. Designed with 

competitive and pro anglers in mind, it offers cutting-edge fishing technology, pre-ran 

power wires, optimized storage, a motor mounting plate, and unparalleled stability, 

making it highly customizable to meet the needs of professional fishermen.

For more information about the Tactical Pro 128 and Wilderness Systems’ complete 

lineup, please visit confluenceoutdoor.com.

About Pelican International:

Pelican International is a world leader in the paddlesport and outdoor industry. Renowned 

for exceptional quality, innovation and expertise, Pelican has become the foremost global 

authority in the design and manufacture of kayaks, canoes, pedal boats, stand-up paddle 

boards (SUPs), fishing boats, and watersport accessories, while also offering a diverse 

range of outdoor equipment.